The Mary T. and Frank L. Hoffman
Family Foundation
andAll-Creatures.Org

Letters and Responses

Letter from Arthur Poletti to the Pope about Stopping Bullfighting and the Torture of Bulls at Toro de Coria - 30 May 2007

"His Holiness" Pope Benedict XVl

There are literally millions of people throughout
the world that are appalled and disgusted by
the madness and cruelty that takes place when
bulls are tortured and murdered for fun and laughs
during the Toro de Coria event each year in Spain.

To make matters even worse most of these events
are dedicated to saints from the Catholic church
like (Saint John for the Toro de Coria) which is
blasphemous!

What an insult!

What could be more fun and entertaining then
watching a slow blood bath massacre as the bulls
bodies are methodically ripped apart and ultimately
murdered to entertain an arena filled with cheering
brain dead blood thirsty people that look like the
devils disciples?

Pope St. Pius V decreed that bullfights are
“altogether foreign to piety and charity.” He wished
that “these cruel and disgraceful exhibitions of devils
and not of men be abolished,” and he forbade
attendance at them under penalty of
excommunication.

Pope St. Pius V -- was not afraid to express his
utter disgust with bull fighting. The following
articles and illustrations will explain why.

BULLFIGHTING SCHOOLS – THE
“ART” OF TORTURING AND KILLING

In Spain according to the numbers of the Ministry
of Interior there are 43 registered bullfighting schools.
All these schools are subsidized by the Autonomic
Regions, local authorities, etc. For example the
region of Andalucia has 22 bullfighting schools
and in 2007 the Government of Andalucia gave
300,000 euros of public money to these schools.

Children begin learning the “art” of torturing and
killing at an early age. The minimum entry age for
these schools varies from one region to another,
for example in Valencia it is 9 years old and in
Madrid 12.

The schools provide all course material. Field trips
include visits to farms of bull breeders to participate
in tientas ( tests where bulls and cows are pinched
with long spears to see how brave they are) and they
also practice on calves, young bulls and cows with
banderillas, swords, etc.

If you add to the inherent cruelty of a bullfighting
spectacle the inexperience of these children you
can imagine the carnage.

The minimum age to perform in a spectacle in
Spain is 16 years old so many children as
young as 11 or 12 go to Mexico to perform
since there is no minimum age in that country.

Besides the very well known spanish bullfights, this
country has something commonly called Popular
Festivals (popular fiestas) which are in reality
another way of torturing bulls. Some of these
popular fiestas are outrageous and terrible. Below
a list of the most horrific popular fiestas as well
as the email addresses of the local authorities.

TORDESILLAS "El toro de la Vega"
(bull of Vega)

This so called popular fiesta consists in chasing
a bull with spears all over the village sticking them
into his body until his death. Meanwhile, since the
crowd think that the torture is not enough, they cut
his testicles off while he is still alive.

CORIA "El Toro de Coria"
(Coria's bull)

The bull walks and runs for hours in the streets
while people throw darts at him. When he is too
tired and weak from loss of blood to continue to
escape, the villagers kill him with a gun and cut
his testicles off. How neat! You wonder why the
world is so screwed up.

"Holy Father" I feel certain that when you carefully
consider the value and importance of all of Gods
precious creatures you will agree that God wants
humans to protect and care for them, not to
needlessly torture and murder them.

The real question is who is going to come to the
aid and defense of these precious creatures?

Who is brave enough and bold enough to express
the will of God in a convincing and persuasive
way that will be heard loud in clear and could make
a real difference in helping to stop these pathetic
mass murders.

"Holy Father" once again I plead with you to
come to the aid of animals that most often are
facing certain death. That are brutally tortured
and murdered while most of the people that are
watching are licking their lips with great joy and
enthusiasm.

The Toro de Coria campaign event really needs to
come to an abrupt end. Please seriously consider
helping God free these animals from this horrible
blood sport by taking a stand and making an
announcement expressing your disgust with the
Toro de Coria event and all events like it.

It would be impossible to present a list of cities
and addresses of towns with bullfights. The best
solution is to personal telephone and send protests
to the Prime Minister of Spain and to the Ministry
of the Interior (the entity that governs bullfights
in Spain).

"Nobody made a greater mistake than he who
did nothing because he could only do a little."
~Edmund Burke

"Killing animals for sport, for pleasure, for adventures, and for hides and
furs is a phenomenon which is at once disgusting and distressing. There is no
justification in indulging in such acts of brutality." ? His Holiness the XIV
Dalai Lama

"They too, are created by the same loving hand of God which Created us...It
is ouey too, are created by the same loving hand of God which Created us...It is
our duty to Protect Them and to promote their well-being.”—Mother Teresa.

“It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer and die. “They
too, are created by the same loving hand of God which Created us...It is our
duty to Protect Them and to promote their well-being.”—Mother Teresa. animals
possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller
brethren…the fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit
respect…as near to God as men are.” He reminded people that all living beings
came into being because of the “breath” of God. He spoke of St. Francis’s love
for animals declaring, “We, too, are called to a similar attitude.”—His Holiness
Pope John Paul II. t is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer and
die needlessly.”—Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2418